Luminaire fixture



AU8- 5, 1969 K. F. MILLER LUMINAIRE FIXTURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 25, 1966 R/ mM NF. E vm me N m. K

ATTORNEYS US- 5, 1969 K. F. MILLER 3,459,936

LUMINAIRE FIXTURE Filed April 25, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet :l

Y we@ W RNEYS ug- 5, 1969 K. F. MILLER 3,459,936

LUMINAIRE FIXTURE Filed April 25, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR l /E/v/vfm Elf/4 5e QZMQ QM@ ATT RNEYS Aug. 5, 1969 K. F. MLLER 3,459,936

LUMINAIRE FIXTURE Filed April 25, 1966 4 SheetsfSheet 4 ATT RNEYS Sttes mit@ Q 3,459,936 LUMINAIRE FIXTURE Kenneth F. Miller, Newark, Ghio, assignor to Holophane Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 25, 1966, Ser. No. 545,074 Int. Cl. F21v 3/00, 21/02, 2]/00 U.S. Cl. 240-73 8 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates generally to lighting fixtures for luminaires and in particular to a new and useful lighting fixture for mounting onto a vertical wall of a building. The invention is particularly useful for parking or loading areas, work area platforms and school play areas but may also be used in other wall, or the like, mounted luminaire applications.

The lighting fixture contemplated has provision for mounting therein a refractor and a refiector such as the type described in the application of Herbert A. Odle and Vearl S. Wince, and may be used with either a point or an elongated light source, such as a mercury lamp.

The lighting fixture according to the present invention also makes provision for the placement therein of all required electrical components such as ballast, a capacitor and photo control circuitry.

In the present design of lighting fixtures for mounting on an exterior vertical wall, one critical requirement is that the lighting fixture be waterproof to prevent rain from entering the fixture and corroding the electrical connections and components within the fixture.

In previously known water tight lighting fixtures, the relamping of the unit required the assembly of various hinge components to the mating sections, or the securing of the mating parts with screws or other fastening devices. Also, in known units of the type described, latching was provided via mechanisms on the outside of the fixture body which results in unpleasant appearance, difficulties in packaging and assembly, and in the provision of water-tight sealing.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a lighting fixture which includes a novel hinging device in which all the hinge components are integrally cast within the fixture unit and which does not, however, interrupt the contour of the fixture, and which requires no further assembly once the mating housing and door assemblies are engaged.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a lighting fixture in which the latching mechanism is inserted into a well on the top of the unit outside the sealed lamp compartment which does not, however, interrupt the contour of the fixture.

According to the present invention the lighting xture consists of two sections, a door assembly, which is adapted to contain the refractor, latching mechanism, etc., and a housing assembly which is adapted to contain the reflector, lamp and electrical components, etc.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a lighting fixture for a wall mounted luminaire in which the electrical apparatus and lighting source are located within a sealed enclosure and in which the hinge and latching mechanisms are located within the housing on the outside of the sealed compartment.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a lighting fixture of the type described in which the door assembly yremains captive to the housing as long as the snubber chains are in place and yet in which the door is easily removable when the chains are removed.

It is another object of this invention to provide a lighting fixture of the type described in which the fixture is automatically and positively latched when a closing pressure is exerted on the door assembly, and which has minimum vibration when closed due to the spring pressure exerted between the housing and the door.

It is, therefore, a general object of this invention to provide an improved lighting fixture for a wall mounted luminaire.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved lighting fixture for a wall mounted luminaire which does not require extra hinging components and which provides for easy and relatively rapid assembly and relamping.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a lighting fixture of the type described in Which the secure engagement of the various sections is insured at all times and which provides a substantially water-tight seal to the external elements.

It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a lighting fixture for a wall mounted luminaire in which the mating elements of the various sections of the fixture engage automatically with the application of closing pressure to one assembly, and which can be readily disengaged by the simple application of pressure to an external portion of the latching means. The inventive latching arrangement also provides an uninterrupted external contour ofthe fixture unit.

In accordance with the present invention the lighting fixture comprises two sub-assemblies, namely a door assembly and a housing assembly. The door assembly comprises `a door to which the refractor is mounted and assembled by the action Of spring clips. Sealing means are provided between the refractor and the door to provide a water-tight connection therebetween. Located within a well atop the door assembly is a latch which is mounted on a compression spring and adapted to rotate around a pin. Access is provided to rotate the latch by pressing an extension of the latch. However, the latching means is completely within the body of the door assembly and does not interrupt the smooth outside contour thereof.

The housing comprises a compartment in which the electrical equipment of the lighting fixture such as ballast and a capacitor is placed. Spring clips are mounted between the door and the housing to insure rattle free connection when the door and housing assemblies are engaged to form the completed fixture. Also located in the housing are means for mounting the refiector and the light source.

The hinging of the two assemblies is accomplished by providing integrally cast hinge parts in both the door and the housing thereby eliminating extra hinge parts, and reducing the assembly time, as well as insuring perfect alignment between the housing and door at all times.

Hinge tongues, cast to the body of the door, are adapted to fit over hinge pins which yare located in and integrally cast with the housing. When the unit is unassembled, the door assembly is held at nearly right angles to the housing. The hinge tongues are inserted into the slots over the hinge pins. The door assembly can then be rotated towards the housing until a latch in the door engages the lip of a slot in the housing. A feature of the hinging mechanism is that the door assembly is held captive to the housing assembly by a rib located in the housing adjacent the tongues until the door is opened to approximately 80. When mounted the door is restrained from opening slightly short of this angle by snubber chains which are mounted to the housing. Hooks disposed at the free end of each chain are connected to hooks secured to the door. When it is desired to remove the door from the housing, the snubber chain is unfastened from the hook, allowing the door to open to more than 80 at which point the door automatically disengages from the housing.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of the specification. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objectives obtained lby its use, reference should he had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. l is a front elevational view of the lighting xture according to the present invention, showing the refractor mounted thereto and also indicating in dotted portions the electrical apparatus with which the lighting fixture is equipped;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the lighting fixture shown in FIG. 1, showing the lighting fixture mounted to a vertical wall;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation partly broken away of the housing assembly showing the upper portion thereof without electrical components mounted therein;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation of the door assembly showing the inner construction of the door assembly;

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view showing the manner in which the door is hingedly mounted to the housing, the ldoor being shown in dotted lines in position after being engaged with the housing assembly;

FIG. 6 is `a sectional view taken along lines 6 6 of FIG. 3 showing the manner in which the reflector is mounted to the wall of the housing assembly;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along lines 7 7 in FIG. l showing in detail the manner in which the latching means engage;

FIG. 8 is a detailed view in section taken along line 8 8 of FIG. 4, showing the manner in which the refractor is mounted and engaged to the door assembly, and in particular showing the spring and gasket mounting means;

FIG. 9 is a detailed view in sectional view taken along line 9 9 of FIG. 4 showing in detail the clip yby which the refractor is retained to the bottom of the door assembly;

FIG. l0 is a detailed view in section taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 1, showing the means by which the light capturing element of the photoelectric means of the fixture is installed into the housing assembly;

FIG. l1 is a detailed view in section taken along line 11-11 of FIG. 5 showing a detailed view of the latching mechanism; and

FIG. 12 is an exploded view, partly in section, showing the hinge tongue of the door and the hinge pin of the housing assembly by which the door is pivotally mounted to the housing. The parts are reversed for detail purposes.

Referring to the drawings, the lighting fixture of the invention is generally designated 10 and comprises a housing assembly 12 and a door assembly 14.

FIG. 2 shows a side elevation of the lighting fixture 10 as assembled, in which a refractor 13, having vertical back edges and horizontal bottom and top edges, is disposed within the door assembly 14. The door assembly .4 14 comprises an upper roof portion 16 which slopes downwardly at an angle slightly away from the vertical and extends forwardly into portion 15 which, as shown in FIG. 2, overhangs the refractor 13 when the refractor 13 is engaged to the door assembly.

The refractor 13 as employed with the light fixture according to the present invention may be advantageously one which is described in co-pending application Ser. No. 540,579.

The manner in which the refractor 13 is placed in a sealed and water-tight engagement with the door assembly 14, is best shown in FIGS. 5, 8 and 9. An extruded gasket 17 extends about the upper perimeter of refractor 13 and is cemented thereto. Gasket 17 is also sealed to the rear of the bottom panel and the rear edges of the side panels of refractor 13 to provide complete sealing between the refractor 13 and door assembly 14. A clip 18 is mounted to an extension 19 (FIG. 8) of the interior of the forward extension 15 and is secured thereto by fastening means such as a screw 20. The clip 13 contains a resilient, forwardly extending portion 18a and a downwardly extending resilient section 18h, so that it exerts both a downward and a forward pressure upon the refractor 13, and the gasket 17; the forward force being exerted by extension 18h and the downward force being exerted by the resilient action of section 18a.

A ledge 21 extends between the end walls of the door assembly to separate the door assembly into the refractor compartment, and an upper compartment, which covers the electrical apparatus when the door assembly 14, is mated to the housing assembly 12. At the bottom edge of the door assembly 14 there are provided clips 22 (FIGS. 4 and 9) which are fastened to the bottom edge of the door assembly by fastening means such as screw 23 (FIG. 9). The vertical extension of clip 22 further retains the refractor 13 in its sealed fluid-tight engagement with door assembly 14.

By the novel construction shown, sealing is provided around all the edges of the refractor, which contact door assembly 14.

The latching mechanism is disposed within a well 24 which is formed within the interior of the top face of the roof 16. The latching mechanism comprises a latch 25 which extends substantially rearwardly within the well 24, and is mounted for pivotal movement on a roll pin 26 (FIG. ll) which extends through openings in downwardly extending ears 25a of latch 25. Roll pin 26 is supported by two opstanding ears of a mounting bracket 27 which is fastened to the floor 24a of well 24 by means of fastening screws 28. Disposed about the roll pin 26 is a compression spring 29 which has an upper segment 29a and a lower segment 291:. As seen in FIG. 5, spring segment 29h engages the floor 24a of well 24, and spring segment 29a engages latch extension 30, to urge extension 30 in a flush fit with shoulder 16a of room 16, to provide facile means for releasing the latch mechanism as will be described in a later portion of this specification. The latching mechanism 25 also contains a narrow rearward extension 31 having a downward extension 31a, which is adapted to fit over edge 32a into recess 32 formed within housing assembly 12 (FIG. 7.)

Housing assembly 12 comprises an upper shelf 33 which is adapted to house the various electrical apparatus required for the operation of the lighting fixture. These are shown in the dotted lines of FIG. l, and will generally include items such as a transformer 34, a capacitor 35 and a photo-control circuit 36. The photo-control circuit 36 operates together with a prism 37 which is mounted within a hole formed in the top surface of housing assembly 12. A moisture seal 38 is placed into an annular groove 39 in the housing 12.

The operation of the prism 37 and the photo-control system 36 is more fully explained in application Ser. No. 316,005, filed Oct. 14, 1963, and will, therefore, not be further described herein.

A gasket 40, made of an elastomer such as neoprene, is cemented in a recessed well 41 on the rear side of the housing 12 (FIG. 5). Gasket 40 is self-aligning for installation and adaptable for -use over any commercially available outlet box up to four inches. Resilient strips 42 are mounted on pads 43 which are disposed on the left and right side of the housing 12, as seen in FIG. 3, below a ledge 44 which separates the electrical equipment cornpartment 33 from the lamp and reflector compartment 45. The strips 42 exert pressure between the housing assembly 12 and the door assembly 14 through the force exerted thereby upon the refractor 13, thus assuring a tight, rattle free unit when the door assembly is engaged to the housing assembly.

A die cut neoprene gasket 46 is cemented in a slot around the periphery of the housing 12, and a gasket 47 is cemented to the ledge 44 to insure a water proof seal when the door assembly engages the housing assembly. The weep holes 48 within housing assembly 12 allow Water which enters the latch well 32 to drain from the back of the unit.

A reliector 49 is mounted to the rear wall of housing assembly 12 by means of screws 50 which are engaged within lugs 51 and are supported by four projections 52. Thin walled sections 57 (FIG. 6) are cast into the housing and can be readily removed, if required, affording several mounting possibilities for the reflector 2.

A socket 53 is mounted on a mounting bracket 54 to lugs 55 which are fastened to extension bosses 56 extending from the back wall of housing assembly 12. Bracket 54 may also be reversedly mounted to lugs 55 so that mounting strip 54a will be disposed away from reector 2 instead of being nearer the reflector as shown in FIG. 3. By this reversal of the mounting of bracket 54, the center of the light source will be in the same position for light sources having different envelope lengths, such as a 100 watt mercury lamp and a 200 watt incandescent lamp.

The hinging of the two mating assemblies, namely, the door and housing assemblies, -is accomplished by integrally cast hinging elements disposed on the door and housing assemblies. This construction eliminates the need for extra hinge parts, reduces assembly time, and insures a substantially perfect alignment of the two assemblies at all times.

As best shown in FIGS. 5 and l2, an integrally cast hinge tongue 53 extends rearwardly from door assembly 12 and comprises a rearwardly extending section 58a, which proceeds through an arcuate portion 58b to a vertical portion 58C. A cutout area 58d is formed to receive the pin 59 at the bottom portion of hinge tongue 58 and is defined by a forward sloping segment 58e and a substantially vertical segment 5Sf. When the unit is unassembled, and door assembly 14 is at right angles to the housing assembly 12, hinge tongues 58 are inserted within slots 60 which are located above the hinge pins 59. Segments 58e and 58]c of tongue 58 are disposed over hinge pins 59, so that door assembly 14 can be rotated towards housing assembly 12 until a ange 31a of latch 25 engages with a ange 61 within slot 32 in housing assembly 12 (FIG. 5). Hinge pins 59 (see FIG. 12) are integrally cast in the housing, mounted between the lower portion of the side well 80 of the housing assembly 12 and an integrally cast projection 67.

A feature of this hinging apparatus is that due to the greater thickness of tongue 58 at the lower end of segment 58C, than that of arcuate section 58h, door assembly 14 is held captive to housing assembly 12 by the engagement of a projection 62 with vertical segment 58C of hinging tongue 58, until the door is opened to approximately 80. When mounted, the door assembly is restrained from opening short of this angle by snubber chains 63 mounted to the housing assembly 12 by mounting means 64 with the free ends secured to a hook 65 on the door. Hook 65 is fastened to the underside ledge by means of fastening means such as screws 66.

When it is desired to remove the door assembly 14 from the housing assembly 12, the snubber chains 63 are removed from hooks 65 to allow door assembly 14 to open to more than and the door assembly, thereupon, automatically disengages from the housing assembly. To engage the two mating assemblies, door assembly 14 is pivoted into engagement with housing assem- Ibly 12, and latch 25 enters under pressure and automatically engages with flange 61 within recess 32 in the housing assembly. Once the latching engagement is achieved, latch extension 30 is flush with upper surface 16a of housing roof 16 forming therewith an uninterrupted surface. To disengage the latch mechanism the latch extension 30 is depressed against the force of retaining spring 29, to release latch 25 from recess 32 thereby permitting door assembly 14 to swing down to its unassembled position, where it is held by snubber chains 63. `Chains `63 can then be removed from hooks 65 and door assembly 14 may be then lifted from hinge pins 59 to completely remove the door assembly from the housing assembly. By this novel construction, relamping, servicing and other operations are greatly facilitated.

It is to be understood that the embodiments shown and described in this specification are shown merely to illustrate my invention, but that I wish that my invention be defined by the claims which are appended below:

What I claim is:

1. A luminaire fixture comprising juxtaposed mounting and door portions including opposing and aligned peripheral walls, wall means extending intermediate said peripheral walls dividing said juxtaposed portions into at least two compartments and including opposing and aligned surfaces on said mounting and door portions, one of said compartments including means for mounting electrical components and the other of said compartments including means for mounting reflector and lamp components, said other of said compartments including a refractor assembled with said door portion and including means between said door portion and said refractor for retaining the same in sealed engagement, and means Ibetween said mounting and door portions for retaining said opposing walls and surfaces in sealed engagement.

2. In the luminaire fixture of claim 1, wherein there is included means for hinging said door assembly to said mounting portion, said hinging means being positioned externally of said retaining means.

3. The luminaire xture of claim 2, wherein said peripheral walls include a substantially horizontal wall, said hinge means comprising pivot and tongue means disposed along said substantially horizontal wall for hinging said door element to said housing element for pivoting said door element from a substantially mated closed position towards open positions, and for assembling and disassembling said housing and door elements, said pivot and tongue means including a tongue receiving and retaining area, a hinge pin and a tongue, said retaining area being formed on one of said mounting and door portions and including an opening facing the other of said portions, said hinge pin being generally parallel to said horizontal wall, being disposed along a transverse axis across said area and being radially spaced from surfaces of said horizontal wall, said tongue having an inner section extending from said other portion into said area and an arcuate section extending from said inner section around said pin, the end of said arcuate section being spaced from said inner section to provide for entry and exit of said tongue from said area, said tongue substantially filling the axial width of said area to thereby constitute means for aligning said opposing walls and surfaces.

4. A luminaire xture comprising juxtaposed mounting and door portions including opposing and aligned peripheral walls, Wall means extending intermediate said peripheral walls dividing said juxtaposed portions into at least two compartments and including opposing and aligned surfac/:s on said mounting and door portions,

means between said mounting and door portions for retaining said opposing walls and surfaces in sealed engagement, said retaining means including means mounted in one of said compartments for releasably latching said portions in the closed position, said latching means including an operating element extending to an aperture in one of said portions, said operating elements substantially lling said aperture and being flush with the outer surface of said one of said portions.

5. The luminaire xture of claim 4, including separate wall means also extending intermediate said peripheral walls and including opposing and aligned surfaces on said mounting and door portions and forming a third compartment in said juxtaposed portions, said latching means being mounted in said third compartment, and said means between said mounting and door portions for retaining said opposing walls and surfaces in sealed engagement also retaining said opposed and aligned surfaces of said separate wall means in sealed engagement.

6. In a luminaire including mated rear housing and front door elements with pivot and tongue means for hinging said door to said housing disposed along aligned peripheral wall portions thereof and for pivoting said door element vfrom the substantially mated, closed position towards opening positions and for assembling and disassembling said housing and door elements, said hinging and pivoting means comprising at least one tongue receiving and retaining area in one of said elements including an opening facing the other of said elements along one of said aligned peripheral wall portions, a hinge pin in said area substantially parallel to said one aligned wall portion and radially spaced from inner surface thereof, a tongue having an inner section extending from the other of said elements into said area and having an arcuate section extending from said inner section around said pin, the end of said arcuate section being spaced from said inner section, the surfaces of said arcuate section and said end immediately surrounding said pin and the surface of said pin being linearly continuous to provide for unobstructed entry and exit of said tongue to and from said area and around said pin, said tongue being dimensioned so as to substantially fill said area between said pin and adjacent portions of said wall portion of said one element, capturing means formed by said wall portion of said one element and overlying said inner section of said tongue in close proximity thereto and preventing radial movements of said tongue until said other of said portions is pivoted suiiiciently from said closed position to dispose the spaced end of said tongue in alignment with said area between said pin and said capturing means whereby said end clears said capturing means when drawn away therefrom.

7. In a luminaire fixture incorporating light source means and reector means disposed rearwardly of a refractor element and including a housing element, a door element including a refractor, said housing and door elements being dimensioned to accommodate various sizes of light sources and reilectors, means on said housing for consecutively mounting reflectors of varying sizes, second means on said housing for mounting a light source receptacle, said second means including a right angle bracket disposed forwardly of said first mentioned means and being reversibly connected to means extending from said housing whereby to consecutively dispose said receptacle in either one of two positions spaced laterally of one another, said second means thereby constituting means for consecutively disposing light source means relative to reflectors of various sizes.

8. ln a luminaire xture assembly comprising a door including a refractor mounted within an aperture thereof, said aperture being formed by peripheral portions including refractor mounting surface means terminating in inwardly facing edge means, said refractor including ange means, at least one clip, tightenable fastening means for fastening said clip to a position along said peripheral portions overlying said mounting surface means and said refractor liange means, said clip including resilient means extending from said fastening means and engaging said refractor internally thereof and urging the same toward said edge means, said clip including second resilient means extending from said fastening means and engaging opposing surfaces of said peripheral portions and said refractor and urging said flange means against said mounting surface.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,604,839 10/1926 Amidon 240-44L6 1,663,655 3/1928 Guth 240-73 2,302,661 11/1942 Benson 24U-78 X 1,630,522 3/ 1953 McDougall. 2,914,657 11/1959 Akely 240-3 3,038,062 6/1962 Liberman 240-78 X 3,131,871 5/1964 Foulds. 3,140,833 7/1964 Woloski 240-78 3,189,740 6/1965 Wince 240-78 3,315,072 4/1967 Harling 240-147 X 3,330,952 6/ 1967 Wince. 3,358,133 12/1967 Thoman.

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,432,539 2/1966 France.

NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner MONROE H. HAYES, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

